Three people were arrested and police are seeking another four after the anti-corruption prosecutor issued at least 7 arrest warrants over suspected loans from Hellenic Postbank. The loans worth 400-500 million euro were given in the period between 2006 and 2011. Former CEO and bank staff, several Greek and Cypriot businessmen -among them the owner of a big private media group, including a TV station- were to face charges on money laundering and fraud.
According to Greek media, the warrants are issued against members of the bank’s board, committee members who endorsed the bad loans and businessmen who received them and failed to pay back even a euro. The businessmen allegedly did not use the loans for the purposes they took them, neither they gave guarantees for them. Another 25 people are believed to be involved in the case.
Arrested so far are former HPb general managers Marios Vorotsis and Charalambos Giangoudis. Police has also arrested media group owner Dimitris Kontominas who is currently undergoing treatment in a private hospital in Athens. Kontominas remains in the hospital under police guardianship.
According to reports, Kontominas is not involved in the bad loans but in the case of a credit card issued for his company. The businessman issued a statement saying he did not do any wrongdoing.
Former HPb CEO Aggelos Philippidis told ANT1 TV this morning, that he was on a business trip to USA and that he was planning to return to Greece next week.
Police are seeking four more suspects, one former bank CEO and a managers and a businessmen couple. Allegedly, another businessman -currently in custody- is also involved in the bad loans.
Characteristically, one non-performing loan was 100million euro, another one was 110 million euro.
The probe followed a report by the Bank of Greece according to which many bad loans (non-performing) were given for a very long time. Some media report, that it was the auditors of Blackrock who registered the bad loans.
The charges brought by the Prosecutor against Corruption, Popi Papandreou, refer to five felonies:
1. Fraud against the state under particularly aggravating circumstances , an offense punishable by life sentence
2. Repeated infidelity.
3. Direct abetting infidelity
4. Money laundering from criminal activities
5. Direct involvement in money laundering .
According to media, probing authorities have located assets in off shore companies in Virgin Islands, Cyprus and other countries and purchase of properties in London.
Reports claim that the prosecutor has already frozen the assets of those being probed so that the Greek state can be able to reclaim at least a part of the loans.
